One Chance
by xXTheOtakuFaeryXx
Summary: She was broken inside, nothing more than a memory of what used to be; could have been. He was misunderstood; caring without acknowledgement. When they meet, they have one chance to change it all. Short story about abuse. Soon to be a threeshot! :3
1. Memories

**A/N: I was inspired by all of the other sad Amuto fics, though this isn't exactly Amuto. But it DOES have Amu and Ikuto. So there. But for future reference, this isn't romance. Okay have fun reading it and tell me what you think! Please read and review!**

**One Chance**

"_No one understood me. They didn't believe me until it was too late. And now they have to pay."_

"Where were you? We've been waiting hours for you to come back!" Ikuto's stepfather yelled angrily at him. Ikuto shrugged, staring at the floor.

"Out." He replied quietly.

"You are not getting food until you tell me where you've really been! Now get out of my sight!" his stepfather slapped him once across his face, a red handprint rapidly appearing. Ikuto closed his eyes for a few seconds to block out the pain before trudging up the stairs to his room, his left hand clutching a gift he was going to give to his stepfather.

When he entered his room, he flopped on his sky blue bed covers and put a fluffy white pillow over his face. "Why do you have a pillow over your face?" an unfamiliar feminine voice sounded in his head. Lifting the pillow, he noticed a little girl sitting on the edge of his bed. Her pink hair stood out against the white walls, and her gold eyes accented her peachy skin. She looked quite innocent, actually.

"What happened to you?" Ikuto asked, forgoing the introductions. The girl, perhaps twelve, delicately touched her face just below her right eye where an ugly bruise had formed, a slash mark dripping blood, only adding to her image. She winced.

"My mother hit me. The cut is from her ring. It's okay though, it doesn't hurt as much as it used to." She smiled sweetly. "My name is Amu, in case you were wondering." She added after a slight pause.

"Why are you here…Amu?" Ikuto used her name hesitantly. She smiled again, walking out towards his balcony and lifting her face up to the sky, seemingly ignoring him. After a long moment of silence, she started talking.

"It wasn't always so bad, you know. She used to love me—my mother, that is. I don't really know what happened, but I remember one day she just, snapped. I think I broke something and she hit me; the first time in my life. She and I were drifting apart. Every time I made a mistake I was punished. It eventually got to the point where I was locked up in my basement and beaten whenever things didn't go the right way in her life. I didn't mind either. I thought, _Mommy is mad, but I'm helping her. I don't care if I get hurt, I would die for my mommy._ I was stupid back then, not to realize that I was being abused and that I was just making things worse."

"There was this one time when she let me go outside. It was my birthday, so that was my present, as long as I wasn't seen. Then this little boy came up. He asked, _Are you alright? You look hurt._ It was cold, toneless, and held no emotion as though he didn't know what it was, but honestly, I would rather hear that all day than what my mother screamed at me. I was scared that I would make Mommy mad, so I tried to ignore him. But he didn't leave. He told me, _Let's run away, okay?_ He had bruises on his arms and a few cuts. I was eleven, turning twelve, as I am now. I knew what abuse was by then; I could tell by the way she became more violent as the years went on. I was excited; I wanted nothing more than to leave my life behind. We sat there talking for hours, thinking of what to do when we ran away. He was so cold, and I think he was surprised by me; for being so compassionate. Then my mother came out and she saw me talking to him. She got really mad and took me downstairs. She beat me until I was so broken and I just…died. In a way, I guess I did run away. It just wasn't the ideal way." Amu turned back to Ikuto, a slight smile gracing her features and a lone tear trickled down her face.

"As for why I'm here, it's because you're so much like me. I came to visit—I want to help you, and I'll support whatever decision you make." She walked back into the room and sat back on Ikuto's bed. Ikuto nodded absently, pondering what she had said before.

"Wait? What do you mean you died?" he asked, sitting up abruptly. Amu giggled childishly.

"Oh, you mean you haven't figured it out? I'm a ghost!" She grinned.

"W-what? You're a what?" Ikuto was absolutely stunned. What was happening? That slap must have gotten to his head. Yes. It _must_ have.

**A/N: My first Shugo Chara! I was a little fuzzy on how to portray Ikuto, but I tried my best. The last bit was a little 'meh' butI'll try to explain it in the next chapter. It's going to be a two-shot, maybe three. I can't decide. I guess it'll happen as I update. :) So please Read (done) and REVIEW! And Favorite. And Follow. Please? Pretty please with whipped cream and a super cute Ikuto on top? now you really have to. You can't resist a cute Ikuto with whipped cream. So please review! I alway get sad when Ikuto is sad, but this kinda helps. You know, putting the negative emotions in a computer instead of my head. Maybe I should just hire Amu to fix me. NEGATIVE HEART! LOCK ON! . . . OPEN HEART! Okay I'm done being weird now!**


	2. Remembrance

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Shugo Chara. If I did, Ikuto would be real and we would be dating. But we're not, so tough luck.**

**A/N: Hey guys sorry for all these late updates but once I finish a chapter I tend to get bitten by the Writer's Block bug. Sorry, but I hope the chapter makes up for it! **

"_Your reality is my nightmare."_

_Previously…_

"_Wait? What do you mean you died?" he asked, sitting up abruptly. Amu giggled childishly._

"_Oh, you mean you haven't figured it out? I'm a ghost!" She grinned._

_"W-what? You're a what?" Ikuto was absolutely stunned. What was happening? That slap must have gotten to his head. Yes. It _must _have._

* * *

"I'm a ghost." Amu blinked owlishly, as though she didn't understand why he couldn't grasp the fact that she was dead. "Although…I guess I'm not technically a ghost because I'm not haunting the living world. So I'm more of a memory. Like a lost one that's just trying to find where it belongs. Does that make sense?" she questioned, nervously smoothing down her bloodied skirt.

"A little. I guess…" Ikuto's head was still spinning_. Not real…memory…dead…lost…_ Ikuto blinked four times and stared hard at Amu, looking for any clue that would prove her claim of being dead. She did waver a little, like she wasn't really sitting. She probably wasn't though. And she looked a little pale, but with the kind of abuse she suffered it's perfectly understandable.

Amu's eyebrows scrunched together worriedly. "I'm sorry. I was too blunt wasn't I? Should I have told you earlier? I put you in an awkward situation didn't I? Oh, I'm sorry. It's just, you're the only person I've told that could talk to me, let alone see me. I was just a little excited. I'm sorry!" she fretted, pacing back on Ikuto's pale blue rug.

"Just slow down and please explain it to me. Please." Ikuto pleaded, waving her closer. Amu paused before walking cautiously towards his bed again. She took a deep breath and started talking once more.

"Well, I should probably explain the difference between ghosts, spirits, and memories. A ghost is a being with a purpose. They most often haunt their place of death and they cannot rest until…something has happened. A spirit is similar to a ghost but is still very different. It is a conscious being that can think and go wherever it pleases. A memory is usually forgotten in this category. It is a former self, focusing solely on its life before. They most often take the form of when they die, but can also change to any time when they were alive." Here, Amu paused. She closed her eyes, her features morphing slightly. When she opened her eyes again, her face looked mostly untouched and her limbs were no longer sticking out at odd angles. Her clothes were clean and she had a little glow of happiness surrounding her.

"This is from earlier; before she beat me to death. Memories are bits and pieces of themselves, so there is probably another me running around somewhere. Anyway, unlike spirits and ghosts, memories can have feelings and continue learning. While spirits can think, they draw their knowledge from what they already knew, whereas memories can be taught even after our past self has died. And most importantly, a ghost is formed when it has a mission to complete before it truly dies. Spirits are usually from people or other living beings that have come back of their own free will. Memories are here because they want to help another life form instead of causing it harm like ghosts. So when you die, think of it this way—you cross wake up in an unfamiliar area, and you see a bridge. There is a guard standing in front of it, and he is the one that lets you through. He can sort of read your thoughts, so if you are wishing harm upon a certain person, they won't let you cross and you must go back to the living world until that person has died. Sometimes, a person decides to go back because they miss their family or something similar. They can't come back once they leave, which is something they know but are usually willing to sacrifice. Then there are those unusual people like me who decide to go back to the living world to help someone similar to them. Since are intentions are good, we become temporary and can return back to the world of the dead. And because I wanted to help someone, I was allowed back here. And I picked you." Amu smiled brightly.

"Why? I mean, why did you pick me specifically?" Ikuto asked, stretching out on his bedspread like a cat. Amu stared at her hands, and a slightly uncomfortable silence descended on the two. Ikuto opened his mouth just as Amu looked up and opened hers. They laughed nervously and were slightly relieved when they heard someone knocking on the door. "Come in. The door's open." Ikuto called tiredly, and was happy to see his sister Utau walk into his room and sit gingerly on the floor.

"I-Ikuto…I brought some chocolate taiyaki for you; I know it's your favorite. And I'm sorry about what happened earlier." Utau said timidly. It was easy to see that she was scared, but one reassuring smile from Ikuto wiped away the nervous feelings.

"Thank you." He replied, quickly snatching the brown paper bag from his sister's hands. Utau reddened and began fidgeting with her hands. Deciding she had nothing to lose, she got up from her uncomfortable position on the hardwood floor and walked over to Ikuto. As fast as lightning, she hugged her brother's shoulders, whispered 'I love you,' and scampered out of the door. Amu giggled.

"She's cute." She said simply. Ikuto gave her a crooked smile, as if saying, _To you. It's a whole other story to me._

"Anyway, you were saying?" he stared pointedly at Amu who blushed the color of her strawberry hair.

"W-well, remember what I was saying? About how I died?" Ikuto nodded, now paying rapt attention to the pink-haired girl in front of him. "That boy…it's a little hard to explain…but that was…it was _you_." Ikuto drew back in shock. _Him? _But he didn't remember ever meeting her! There must be some sort of mistake. "It was six years ago. When I met you, your stepfather had just moved in with you a few months ago and had already started abusing you. I-I couldn't come earlier, because I was being taught everything thing that I missed because I never went to school. I also learned about my situation and your history so I would be 'better prepared' as they put it. I just wished that I could've come sooner. I am so sorry!" Amu cried, her bright gold eyes brimming with unshed tears.

"Then why don't I remember meeting you?" Ikuto didn't want to see her cry, so he tentatively reached out a hand and grasped her own in a reassuring manner.

"Because your stepfather beat you so hard you forgot! All of that day!" she wailed, the tears falling down her delicate face like waves crashing onto the shore. Amu tore her hand away from Ikuto's and threw herself at him, wrapping her hands around her neck and theoretically soaking his shirt with her tears. Surprisingly, Ikuto only felt warmth instead of the cold he was expecting from a deceased being. In fact, he was surprised he could touch her at all. Even though when he held her hand he made sure not to make a fist and go through her, but the way that she held onto him, the closeness was so accurate it frightened him a bit. But even so, he held her and let her cry, allowing the river of emotions she felt to fall and fade into oblivion.

It was then that he made his decision. Where it would take him, he did not know, but he could only hope that it was better than where he was now.

* * *

**A/N: So here is the next chapter! Slightly longer than the other, but still a little short. I hope you review, regardless of whether you have an account or not. Your feedback is what inspires me to write and without it, the last chapter of this story will not be completed! :( so pretty please, review for me. And, I know you guys READ my stories- I can see that in the 'Traffic Stats' section of my account, but I'm dissapointed that you don't review or follow it! Or if you really like it, why don't you favorite it? If you need the story id it's in the URL. So please, review this story! Don't you ever feel bad for those stories that you find that barely have any reviews? I _PROMISE_ you guys that if I get more reviews, then the third chapter will be spectacular! But tell me what you want! Dramatic, tragic, romantic (?), etc. I get on fanfiction everyday and it breaks my heart when I see that no one has reviewed my stories! If you just wanna talk PM me as long as I know I'm not completely ignored. :)**


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